Parketing, which is parking branded vehicles at high traffic locations has been around forever yet many companies still don’t leverage its power.
My dad used to have his company logos and lists of the products he sold on our family car! It served as a rolling billboard, and he parked it strategically: no matter where we went, he found the spot that would garner the most views from passing pedestrians and other drivers.
Later, with College Pro Painters, many of us painted our old, used vehicles in a bright yellow color with our huge red and white company logos. These “big bird” vans, as they were called, attracted attention and got us clients. Some franchisees even “bartered” with gas stations: in exchange for parking their vans at the stations overnight, College Pro Painters would buy gas from the proprietor all summer long. The arrangement benefitted all those involved, and put College Pro Painters front and center at all times of the day.
To this day 1-800-GOT-JUNK? branded trucks and wrapped cars are a huge percentage of how people first heard about the company. And even if you have to park your vehicle in a questionable area, potential repair costs due to vandalism are far outweighed by the free marketing exposure you’ll get.
Last time I checked, your prospects aren’t walking around your parking lot. They are driving down the streets in the areas near their homes and offices. Where are your company cars & trucks parking tonight? This is one great and effective way of getting you FREE PR!
June 2, 2010
I totally agree Cameron. When I was COO at Geeks on Call, 8 – 12% of phone calls for service came from our vehicles. We encouraged our franchise partners to strategically park their vehicles in the most visible location of high traffic areas to create awareness of the brand and deliver phone customers.
We also took this a step further by implementing what I called strategic loitering. This idea came from personal experience in a Starbucks in Chicago and we rolled it out as a successful method of marketing to our 300+ franchisees. Essentially by positioning yourself in a Starbucks or other high traffic area with your laptop and business cards out while wearing your logo clothing, without fail someone would stop to ask a computer question. In many cases franchisees were able to book appointments for service on the spot. For a company without physical locations, strategic loitering in person or via car (parketing) was a critical part of our overall marketing plan and success.